Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-11-01

hundreds Of acres, the vines being
cut low and allowed 70 spread out on
the ground until the surface OF tho
earth was almost covered. The
Fresno vineyard raises wine grapes
and scores of Cinnamon were busy
gathering and hauling the grapes TO
the winery, where the juice was be-
ing extracted and made into the fine
wines for which California is famed.
The great tanks were countless in
number and the magnitude of the
business is simply enormous and yet
this was only one of the hundreds in
the State. In the center of the farm
the orchards were planted, surround
ing the Superintendent house and
the ornamental grounds that contrib
uted to the loveliness of the spot.
Here could be found peaches, apples,
pears, pomegranates, oranges, olives,
lemons, figs and nearly every other
kind of fruit trees imaginable. There
were all kinds of berries and large
melon patches where you could walk
over acres almost without step
ping on the ground. There were
nice Rrbors, from which depended
white grapes, black grapes, purple
grapes, yellow grapes and every 9TH
err kind of grapes in punches weigh
ing from one TO five pounds each.
Closer about the house were planted
flowers, evergreens and such orna-
mental trees as the palm, EUCALYPTUS
China umbrella tree, poplar and va
rious others whose names l did not
know. Castor beans, geraniums and
the like grew almost large enough
for shade trees and the varieties of
bright blossomed flowers were too
numerous to mention. The other |
vineyards we're no less lovely, but
most of them raised rsisin grapes and |
the second crop, which comes on
about month after the first is gone,
was being gathered. Trays about
three feet square were placed thickly |
over the fields, one to each vine, and |
ON these could be seen the raisins in |
every stsge fpom the green grape to
the fully dried fruit, They are made
of large white grapes and all that is
necessary IS 10 gather them and
spread them on the tags in the field
and turn them over occasionally. 1t
seldom rains in the grape season to
ruin them and grapes are too plenti-
full to be worth stealing. They are
gathered by Chinese laborers, who
are paid 81 90 day, and the raisins
when ready to pack, are worth five
cents a pound, which is equivalent
to one cent for the grapes, as it takes
FIVE pounds of grapes to make one
pound of raisins. Most of the raisins
are sold loose to the city establish
ments, where they are packed into
boxes holding 20 pounds and sold to
the wholesale trade at about $500 per
box. This work is done largely by
women and children, who easily earn
$l,00 day. One of these factories
alone employs 700 hands. The in
terror of this establishment was
sight worth going miles to see. On
either side Of the long tables were
the busy packers, seated at their
work, while in other parts of the
building the raisins were being
picked, weighed and boxed up, and
the boxes stacked up ready TO be
shipped. 1 saw tons and tons of
them in the fields, on the wagons and
in the packing houses and ate raisins
until the sight of them made me
sick. L picked up ripe figs and olives
from the trees and saw oranges in
every stage from tho blossom to the
ripe fruit. Fresno is not the real
orange country, but oranges grow
there without any trouble. Figs are
largely cultivated and in some or
chardS I asw ripe figs thick on the
ground under the trees where they
had dropped off and had been left to
decay during the hurry OF getting in
the grape crop before the fall rains
begin. spent all OF the forenoon
among these scenes and in the after
noon took similar trip in another
direction will Mr.. Thos. E. Hughes,
a very affable and obliging old capi-
talist, who takes pride in showing
strangers his broad acres and fine
fruit farms. After seeing all 1 could
in this way went up into the dome
of the court house, which is situated
on slight elevation in a scven-acre
park in tho heart Of tho city, and
took birds eyo view of the lovely
landscape stretched cut in every d.
rection. Zeal estate in Fresno is
rapidly advancing is price, eligible
building lols JOxl5O feet being worth
now from $500 to $1,000. The people
all appear 10 be prosperous and hap
Ply and / should consider the town q
good place to engage in any line OF
business. The climate, though, is
not as good as at Los Angeles, as il
gets several degrees colder in winter
and hotter in summer. l left Fresno
al 6 o'clock and Travelled all night
through mountainous aud compar-
atively barren country and next day
after passing through one or two
pretty little valleys, reached Los An
geles just before noon. AS no brief
notice can do full justice to this "City |
of The Angels" as its name signifies,
will have to wait until my next |
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